Matchmaker, Matchmaker
by decemberellia
Summary: It's summer in the Hamptons for the NJBC! Serena and Nate claim they don't have feelings for each other, but what happens when Blair and Chuck decide to help things along? CB Serenate! Fluff-ish.
1. Make Me A Match

**Disclaimer: **I do not own GG or the NJBC.

**A/N: **I've been really busy lately, stripping wallpaper and painting, yada yada. So I haven't had much time to write fics, *sigh* Please r/r. I hope you enjoy! I have another fic that I've been working on for weeks, literally, but I feel too shy to post it. Not sure what's going to happen there.

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**Matchmaker, Matchmaker**

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**MAKE ME A MATCH**

"Chuck!" called an impatient Blair from the full-length mirror. "Get in here!"

"Yes, Princess Waldorf?" he shot back, striding into the bedroom of the mansion they were renting in the Hamptons. As he approached Blair, his love for all colors and patterns was painfully obvious. His pants were a fluorescent green-and-brown checkered monstrosity, and that was just the beginning. But he was Chuck Bass, and Chuck Bass could get away with anything.

Blair had one hand placed on her hip. In the other, she held a sparkly silver dress to herself and looked into the mirror appraisingly.

"No, that's too formal," she sighed, tossing the expensive gown onto the bed, where a large pile had already accumulated.

"What's wrong with the dress you have on?" asked Chuck, fingering the silky blue material. The simple, clean-cut dress cascaded over her curves like a waterfall.

"Nothing, really," she admitted cheerfully. "I just wanted your opinion. But, on second thought, it looks like you need more help than I do."

He glanced down at his eccentric ensemble and looked at her patronizingly.

"While some might have problems making this outfit work, I'm totally pulling it off."

"Oh, I'm sure you wish you were," she smiled sweetly. He chuckled. "But I suggest that you keep your clothes on until after dinner. I'm sure Nate and Serena would be less than thrilled to find their host naked."

"You mean _hosts_, Waldorf," he smirked. "You know you can't resist this."

"Resist what? The pants that practically glow in the dark? What did you do, Bass, mug a highlighter?"

"Oooh!" he pretended to wince. "Shot through the heart! I'm bleeding, here. I think you need to kiss it and make it better."

Blair brushed off his suggestive tone.

"Sorry, widdle Chuckles, but, like I said, Serena and Nate are almost here! We wouldn't want to scar them for life."

"Why? It's not like they haven't heard you screaming my name before."

"I do _not_ scream!"

"Do too!" he said smugly.

Blair opened her mouth to make a witty retort, but was interrupted by the faint slam of a car door. She peered out of the window and saw Nate and Serena getting out of a limo that had pulled into the long, circular driveway.

"Whatever, Bass, they're here!"

"Thank you, O-Screamer-Of-My-Name. And I'm not changing my outfit!" he called as he headed into the bathroom. Blair shrugged and smiled, anticipating his reaction to the little prank she had pulled last night.

She did not have to wait long before Chuck bellowed "WALDORF!" at the top of his lungs and raced back into the room.

"Where's my hair gel?!"

Blair smiled at Chuck innocently.

"I might have poured it all down the sink while you were sleeping." He glared at her. "What? I was tired of the whole middle-aged look! You look so much better without all of that _stuff_ in your hair."

"And _you_ look so much better without all of those clothes on," smirked Chuck, forgetting his annoyance.

Blair rolled her eyes. She had totally set herself up for that one.

"Fine, Bass. You win. I'll greet our guests _au naturel. _I bet Nate will _love_ that!" He bristled and she laughed, skipping down the sweeping flight of stairs to meet the two blondes waiting below.

"B!" squealed Serena as the two friends hugged fiercely. "I feel like I haven't heard from you in forever!"

"That's because she's been rather...busy," came a voice that was positively dripping with innuendo. They turned around to see Chuck smirking on the stairs.

Serena laughed and screamed at the same time, covering her ears. Blair blushed, and Nate laughed at all three of them.

Desperate to change the subject, Blair blurted, "So! I, uh, see you two showed up together..." She trailed off in hopes that one off them would offer some sort of story or explanation. Luckily, Serena caught on.

"Yeah, we're staying pretty close to each other, so Nate just gave me a ride in his limo." Chuck looked at Blair meaningfully and she blushed again. Having completely exhausted that topic, Serena twisted her hands. "So, um, what's up with you? Are you, uh, enjoying summer?"

Chuck moved closer to Blair and held her by the waist, smiling rather diabolically.

"No! No! Forget I asked!" shouted Serena. "Please! No!"

This time, Blair couldn't help but laugh as Serena shook her head like a puppy and did a crazy dance across the foyer.

"It's okay, S! Chuck promises to behave. Don't you, Chuck?" She pretended to glare at him.

"I don't know. I might need a little _persuasion_," he replied, leaning over and finding her mouth. Blair gave in and kissed him back.

"PDA!" cried Serena. "You two! You're hopeless!" She grabbed Nate's hand. "Save me from the mushy-gushy!"

Nate laughed as she used him as a human shield.

"Argh! I can still _hear_ them!" she cried, distressed. She peeked out from behind Nate and saw that Chuck had dipped Blair in his arms like a princess. It was cute, but it was still mildly disturbing to watch her best friend and stepbrother making out like there was no tomorrow. Serena ducked back behind Nate.

"I'd tell them to get a room, but then we'd have to listen to them _screaming_!" she confided, smiling despite herself. Nate's eyes sparkled.

"So what should we do?"

She giggled like a little girl and threw her hands in the air.

"I was hoping _you _had an idea!"

He shrugged and they both laughed.

"What's this?" said Blair slowly, sounding pleased. They whirled around to see that the love-fest had ended. Chuck was over in a corner, busy straightening his bright red bow-tie. "Don't you two make the _cutest_ couple?" Nate put his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor. Serena giggled.

"Oh, no," she protested. "Nate and I aren't, you know, _involved_ or anything." Nate nodded quickly.

"Nonsense, sweetie," smiled Blair, her voice syrupy-sweet. "What do you think I am, blind?"

Serena shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, S!" assured Blair, taking the blonde's hands in her own. "We won't judge you! Remember? It's _totally_ fine." She beamed. "You know what? This could be so much fun! We can go on double dates!" Serena smiled awkwardly at Blair's seemingly genuine excitement.

"B, I meant it. There's really nothing between me and Nate. Sorry, I guess."

Blair shrugged it off.

"Nothing but _chemistry_!" she laughed. "Nothing? Ha! Not yet, anyway!" Blair wiggled her eyebrows. Serena buried her face in her hands, giggling.

"So! Van der Woodsen, Nathaniel?" said Chuck appreciatively.

Nate shrugged and looked down at the floor again.

"I don't think so, man. There's—well, like she said, there's nothing going on." Chuck could've sworn that he saw a look of disappointment flash across Nate's face.

"Like I believe that!" Chuck exclaimed. His gaze met Blair's and they nodded, not needing to speak to understand each other. Serena and Nate protested now, but if Chuck and Blair had their way, they _were_ getting together.

After all, there's no better way to spend the summer than playing matchmaker!

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you know you love me  
xoxo

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	2. Find Me A Find

**Disclaimer: **I do not own GG or the NJBC.

**A/N: **Here's chapter 2! This one is more focused on S/N, but the next will have bunches of Chair, don't worry! Please review!

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**Matchmaker, Matchmaker**

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**FIND ME A FIND**

"Would you happen to know why _Blair Waldorf_ just gave me, Vanessa, and Jenny plane tickets to _Fiji_?! She claimed that she just 'had extras lying around' and that she wanted to be a 'charitable person.' Well, listen. Dan Humphrey does not take charity, nor does he _need _it. I am not some poor homeless person and I am _not_ community service to pad her job applications!"

"Slow down, Dan! I just woke up," Serena mumbled into her cell phone. "Maybe she's trying to be nice. Why can't you accept that Blair can be nice?"

"She's not being nice! It's not humanly possible for her to be nice! The psycho _hates_ me! She's obviously got some sort of ulterior motive. You're friends with her. So tell me what's going on!"

"Can you calm down?" pleaded Serena, who was still not fully awake. "And does it really matter _why_ she gave them to you? Can't you just accept them, go to Fiji, and leave the rest of the world to deal with her scheme? And no, that's not me admitting that she has some sort of scheme planned!"

"Please, Serena! I have principles. And that means that we are _not _taking these crazily expensive tickets and jetting off to_ Fiji_ until I know what is going on! Nothing adds up! She hates people from Brooklyn! She hates me! She hates Vanessa!"

"So maybe she just wants you to leave the country because she hates you so much," sighed Serena, stretching. "Listen, Dan, I've got to go, um, do something. Bye." She hung up and fell back onto her bed. Mmmm. . .the pillows were so soft. . .

Serena woke with a jolt as her phone buzzed itself off of the edge of the bed and crashed onto the floor. She sprang up and snatched the phone. The tiny clock said that it was past noon! She flipped it open and saw that she had a new voicemail message from Blair. It more or less commanded her to meet Chuck, Blair, and Nate for lunch at one o'clock at a new Italian restaurant nearby.

Serena sighed and managed to pull herself out of bed. She ran a brush through her hair a few times and yawned. She pulled on a pair of comfortable jeans, a tank top, and flip flops. She glanced in the mirror and pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail. There.

Just then, her phone chirped.

_Dress nice, S. It's upscale, remember? xoxo B_

Serena sighed, loosed her hair from the ponytail and kicked off the flip flops. Blair knew her well. She looked through her clothes until she found an appropriate dress. It was a little low cut, but it was passable, and Serena didn't want to spend any more time on her appearance than she had to. She was out the door in fifteen minutes.

It was beautiful outside, so she figured she could walk. She skipped down the sidewalk and was very surprised to run right into Nate.

"Hey!" she smiled, a little taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

Nate shrugged nonchalantly.

"I thought maybe we should head over together," he said, smiling despite himself.

"So I have a stalker?" asked Serena teasingly. He flushed and she laughed. "No, I'm just kidding! Of course I'd be happy to walk with you." He smiled hugely, making her a bit uncomfortable. Did Nate. . . like her?

They trudged down the sidewalk in silence. Suddenly, the low cut dress felt like a bad idea. Serena kept stealing glances at Nate in hopes that he would do something to betray his real feelings, but his face seemed almost abnormally blank of emotion. Nate stared straight ahead, his hands once again shoved in his pockets. He willed himself not to look at Serena, but couldn't help but see her out of the corner of his eye. He could've sworn that she kept looking at him. Was she trying to encourage him? He had no idea.

They arrived at the restaurant at two minutes past one. Serena smiled and made a half-hearted joke about how angry Blair would be that they were late. Nate laughed, perhaps a little too loudly. Serena started to panic. It seemed like he really did like her!

The maître d' approached and calmly asked if they had reservations. Serena smiled charmingly.

"Yes, but I'm not sure under what. We're meeting our friends. It could be under Waldorf, Bass, van der Woodsen, or Archibald." The maître d' perused the list.

"Aha! Here, under van der Woodsen," she said, looking at them rather oddly. "If you would follow Alicia?"

A young woman holding leather-bound menus appeared and led them across the restaurant to a tiny booth.

"Excuse me," said Serena, confused. "There's got to be some mistake. We have a party of four, and this looks like a table for two."

"A party of four? Excuse me, let me go check," Alicia apologized, heading back to the front desk. Serena and Nate stood there awkwardly until she returned. "No, the van der Woodsen reservation is for a party of two. Do you need me to switch tables?"

"Blair!" Serena exclaimed under her breath. "No, we'll be fine, thank you." The woman nodded and headed back to welcome the next group.

"Wait, I don't get what's going on," said Nate, looking befuddled. "Where are Chuck and Blair?"

Serena sighed and climbed into the booth.

"They weren't really planning on having lunch with us. It was just a ploy to get us here together! That's why the reservations were only for two."

"Oh," said Nate, sitting down next to her.

Each stared off into the distance, purposefully avoiding the other's gaze. The waitress hadn't even taken their order yet, and the situation was already _beyond_ awkward. Serena twiddled her thumbs, then wondered if people _did_ that anymore. Twiddle was a weird word. It made her think of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, which in turn made her think of tweezers. Thinking of tweezers, she suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to see if Nate plucked his eyebrows. She looked at him straight in the face. It was very hard to tell.

Nate turned to steal a glance at Serena and felt kind of embarrassed to see her staring at him. It was very disconcerting. She looked like she was thinking very hard about something. Sadly, the look on her face did not seem to say 'Nate is so handsome!' or 'I've liked him for forever!' It was definitely more of a 'Nate has a huge pimple on his forehead and doesn't realize it' look.

Both breathed a huge sigh of relief when Serena's phone chirped. She grabbed the phone and flipped it open.

"It's a text from Blair," she explained. Nate nodded understandingly.

"_Talk about what you have in common_," Serena read aloud. "Okay, that's not weird at all!"

"Okay, here's one: we're both being stalked by Chuck and Blair," offered Nate.

"What do you mean?" asked Serena, looking at him oddly.

"Well, how else would Blair know how awkward things were if she wasn't watching us?"

"ESP?" Serena giggled.

"I bet that they're in this restaurant right now, watching us!" Nate concluded.

Serena smiled at Nate. For once, something he said totally made sense! She glanced around the room.

"Let's see if we can figure out which ones are them!"

"Well, that couple is wearing berets and sunglasses. . ." started Nate.

"Chuck and Blair's favorite outfit for espionage!" Serena finished.

"And that couple is making out passionately," he pointed.

"One of Chuck and Blair's favorite activities," she nodded.

"And that blonde girl's hair looks like a wig."

"Yeah, and the beard on the guy next to her looks totally fake!"

They laughed. And Chuck had said playing 'Where's Waldorf?' wasn't fun!

"You know what, I have an idea!" exclaimed Serena. "Do you remember how we tried to figure out who Gossip Girl was?"

"By texting her?" Nate nodded. "I see where you're going with this!" He grabbed his phone and sent a short text message. "So what do we do after Gossip Girl gets the text I sent her?"

Serena's mouth dropped but she quickly shut it. She felt bad for Nate, but, honestly, how confused can you get?

"Um, Serena, that was a joke," said Nate. "Ha ha, remember those?"

"Oh yeah, of course," she smiled, feeling stupid.

"No, you totally thought I was serious!" he laughed. "Come on, Serena. I'm not _that _clueless! Give me a little credit here! You're blonde, too. Doesn't it annoy you when people act like you're stupid all the time?"

Serena beamed like a little girl and nodded enthusiastically.

"_All the time_! This one time—wait, wow, we _are_ stupid. We forgot to watch the people and see who got the text!"

Nate opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the waitress who had finally decided to take their order.

"Hi, my name's Shelby and I'll be taking care of you today. Are you two ready to order?" Nate looked at Serena and smiled, his blue eyes gleaming merrily. Investigating could wait until after lunch, right? After all, they were both starving.

It turned out that having lunch with Nate wasn't half bad. Once they had overcome the initial awkwardness, they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Plus, the food was delicious!

Serena had just finished the last bite of her pasta primavera when her phone went off again. It was yet another message from Blair.

_S—meet me in the ladies room. NOW!!! xoxo B_

Uh oh.

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you know you love me  
xoxo

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**A/N: **A haiku:

Thank you for reading,  
Please remember to review,  
You guys are awesome!


	3. Catch Me A Catch

**Disclaimer: **I do not own GG or the NJBC.

**A/N: **New chapter! Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who already left a review/alerted/favorited! :D Really, thanks a billion! It might be a while before the next update, though, sorry.

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**Matchmaker, Matchmaker**

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**CATCH ME A CATCH**

Serena burst into the ladies' room, looking frantically for her best friend.

"Blair! Blair! Is it— are you— relapse? What's going on?"

Blair looked up and smiled dazzlingly. She looked impeccable, as always, in a short black dress with a dark green ivy pattern, accentuated by a matching headband.

"It's okay, S. I'm totally fine," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "_You_, on the other hand, have a serious problem. Which is why you're here!"

"Huh?" asked Serena, baffled.

"Consider this: When's the last time you went on a date with someone you weren't practically related to, ew; being conned by; or, cough cough Rabbit Face, having a 'non-exclusive' relationship with?"

"Did you just call Aaron _Rabbit Face_?!"

"You haven't! Exactly!" continued Blair, as if oblivious to Serena's question. "So, right now, you and Nate are on a date, yay! But the fact remains that you are woefully inadequate when it comes to dating experience. I, on the other hand, have been dating Nate since kindergarten, making me somewhat of an expert on the subject. Which is why we're here to help you!"

"_We_?"

"My lovely assistant, Chuck Bass!" announced Blair with the sweeping gestures of a game show host. Chuck walked in and gave a small bow. For some reason, he had dozens of fake leaves glued to his hat.

"Wait, this is the ladies' room!" blurted Serena.

"I'm Chuck Bass," he shrugged. "But really, Blair, _lovely_? You forget who you're talking about."

"Fine. The sexiest man alive, Chuck Bass!"

He nodded in approval.

"Operation: Serenate will now commence!" Blair exclaimed happily.

"Wait! You gave us a cutesy _couple's name_?" demanded Serena.

"Yeah," said Blair, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Operation: Serena-slash-Nate was too much of a mouthful. So! We're moving on to Lesson #3: The After Date."

"So I'm seriously supposed to be taking relationship advice from _you two_?"

They looked at her like she was delusional.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blair asked suspiciously.

"I mean, I don't exactly want to go through a year and a half of drama before he can finally admit that he loves me," she said, laughing a little bit. They didn't join in. In fact, they both gave her the death stare.

"Uh, I meant, of course, that I'd be happy to take any advice from you two, since you have known true love!"

"Really, Serena," commented Chuck sarcastically. They kept staring.

"Look, you guys, I know that you were stalking me and Nate today," she began.

"And we know that you know," interjected Blair. "We heard you trying to figure out which couple was us. It was very entertaining, even though you were totally off-base."

"You _heard_ us?!"

"Of course! And you two never suspected a thing!" Blair sang.

"But where were you?" asked Serena, kind of confused but still curious.

"Behind the potted plants in the corner!"

Well, that explained the odd get-ups. Serena sighed. She knew from past experience that when Chuck and Blair were in obsessed mode, resistance was futile.

"Fine, just say what you're gonna say so we can be done with this."

Blair beamed.

"Oh, we can do much better than that! We're giving you a demonstration!"

Serena decided to be the bigger person and kept her mouth shut.

"Okay, so I'm Serena," waved Blair.

"And I'm Nate!" squeaked Chuck in a ridiculous falsetto. Blair and Serena tried to look at him disapprovingly but couldn't help but crack up. "What can I say?" he continued in his normal voice. "The voice of Chuck Bass contains too much testosterone to ever be mistaken for an Archibald."

Blair rolled her eyes.

"So, Nate and Serena are walking home together." They began to walk in place. "Nate does this weird thing sometimes where his arm will twitch. It's not because he's epileptic or has fleas–" Serena stifled a giggle, "–but because he's trying to work up enough courage to hold hands." Chuck obligingly twitched his arm like he was receiving an electric shock. "At this point, you can smile, reach over, and take his hand. Tada!"

"OhmygoshChuckandBlairholdinghands!" squealed Serena, whipping out her phone and snapping a picture before they had time to react.

Blair looked at Chuck and flushed slightly. "I may have told her about a certain comment of yours..."

"I just sent it to all my friends!" Serena shouted happily.

"I suppose that's what _we_ get for stalking _her_," muttered Chuck.

Serena laughed triumphantly at the picture on her phone.

"Now it's my wallpaper!"

"Moving on!" shouted Blair. "So, eventually, you're going to have to part ways. Hence, the Goodbye Kiss. Being the nice people that we are, we'll break it down for you into its basic parts."

"Hey!" interrupted Serena. "I already know how to kiss!"

"Serena, Serena, Serena," Blair shook her head sadly, "you just don't know the difference between a regular kiss and a make-him-ask-you-on-a-second-date-kiss!"

"Well, technically, he didn't ask me on a _first_ date. And come on! There's no diff–" began Serena, only to be silenced by Blair.

"Now, Serena," she asked, her voice dripping with false sweetness, "which one of us has the smokin' hot boyfriend?" Serena sighed and shut up. "First, turn so you're facing each other. Then say something nice about the date. Nate, I had a really great time with you today."

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun, Serena!" squeaked Chuck with false enthusiasm. Serena tried desperately to contain her giggles.

"Make sure you're watching this part, S," Blair murmured, not taking her eyes off of Chuck's. They slowly moved closer until they were almost touching. Blair tilted her face up slightly and Chuck leaned forward. Their lips brushed together softly. Blair closed her eyes and pulled Chuck closer, deepening the kiss. He wrapped one arm around her waist, her body bowing against his own. She caressed Chuck's head and shoulders, ruffling his short dark hair.

"Wait a second!" interrupted Serena, getting annoyed. "This is just another excuse for you two to make out in front of me, isn't it?"

Blair surfaced from the passionate embrace just long enough to gasp, "Of course not! It's an _educational experience_!"

Serena stomped out of the bathroom, exasperated. She grabbed Nate, who had been playing some sort of pinball game on his phone, and yanked him to his feet.

"We're leaving. Now." she said grumpily.

"Is something wrong?" Nate looked concerned.

"No, well," she sighed, waving her hands about absentmindedly. "I guess not. It's just, you know... Chuck and Blair. They're going at it in the bathroom, so I figured now would be a good time to leave, you know, if we don't want to be _stalked_."

"Chuck and Blair?" he asked, appalled. "In a _bathroom_? No! I can't believe it! That is _so_ unlike them!" They kept a straight face for all of three seconds before collapsing into hysterical laughter.

"Come on! Let's go!" urged Serena, still giggling. They joined hands effortlessly and ran out of the restaurant, racing down the sidewalk. The wind whipped through Serena's hair and made Nate's jacket billow out behind him like a cape. They turned corners crazily, flying over the pavement and waving their fingers in the breeze. The sun sparkled overhead magnificently. It seemed they could run on forever. They felt free, exhilarated, like children again.

That is, until Serena tripped over a tree root and went sprawling to the ground.

CRACK!

And broke her leg.

Oops.

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you know you love me  
xoxo

* * *

**A/N: **What do you think so far? Review? ^.^


	4. Night After Night In the Dark I'm Alone

**Disclaimer: **I do not own GG or the NJBC.

**A/N: **Finally, the new chapter is up! Sorry it took so long, but I have a lot of school stuff I'm supposed to work on. Thanks to all of the people who wrote reviews. It really means a lot to me! :D There will probably be two more chapters after this one.

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**Matchmaker, Matchmaker**

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**NIGHT AFTER NIGHT IN THE DARK I'M ALONE**

"I mean, what kind of idiot thinks it's a good idea to _run _down the sidewalk in three inch heels? I feel so stupid!" Serena wailed into the phone.

"It's okay, S," Blair said soothingly. "On the bright side, it seems that you made it pretty far before you fell! I heard that the ambulance picked you up more than fifteen blocks away from the restaurant. Quite an impressive feat!"

"Stop trying to cheer me up," the blonde moaned. "I'm a failure and I know it. I bet you Nate never wants to speak to me again! I totally embarrassed him in front of practically everyone in the Hamptons!"

"I'm sure he's not mad at you. It's not your fault that tree root was there!"

"Yeah, but it _is_ my fault that I wasn't looking where I was going, and it's my fault that I was wearing stilettos! There's no hope for me."

"Seriously, S, there's no way he could be upset with you. He's probably just glad you're okay."

"Only because I freaked him out by suddenly falling on my face and screaming bloody murder!"

"Hey, you broke your leg. That hurts! You had every right to scream."

"But it was so _embarrassing_!" she groaned.

Blair felt Chuck tap her on the shoulder.

"Listen, I've got to go, S. It's all going to be fine. Have you even tried talking to Nate? I think you should give him a call. Apologize, if that's what you want to do. Talk to you later!"

Blair set the phone down and settled back into Chuck's arms.

"Okay, you can un-mute it now," she smiled. Almost instantly, the movie on the screen burst into sound. "Just in time for _Moon River_!" she squealed, kissing Chuck on the cheek. It was a good thing she had seen the movie before, because when he kissed her back, this time on the lips, all thoughts left her head and her surroundings blurred. She was only vaguely aware of knocking over the bowl of popcorn. After all, the maid service could vacuum it up later.

They pulled each other over to the bed, the movie now ancient history. All that mattered was each other. Blair's headband was the first thing to go, followed by Chuck's bow tie. Next came her little black dress, her ever-appropriate choice of attire for watching her favorite movie. Blair clutched Chuck tighter as kisses exploded across her throat. She was insatiable; so was he. That was just one of the many reasons why they were perfect for each other.

By the time they returned to the television, the movie was practically over. They were just in time to see Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard's final kiss. Blair and Chuck smiled at each other sheepishly. This was the twenty-second time that they had tried to watch _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ this summer, and so far they hadn't managed to watch it once all the way through. They kept . . . getting distracted. And who could blame them?

They sat back on the couch anyway, holding hands to watch the credits. Chuck flipped open his phone. He had 15 missed calls. All from Nate. Chuck started to call him back, but before he could finish dialing Nate called again.

"Hey, it's Chuck," he answered.

"Hi, it's me again," Nate began mournfully. "This is what, the seventeenth time I've called you? But seriously, call me back. I need someone to talk to. Th–"

"Nate, you do realize that I answered the phone, right?" Chuck asked, amused.

"Huh?"

"I said that this is me. Not a recording."

"Oh."

"So what's going on?"

"Nothing, really."

"You called me _sixteen times _to talk about _nothing_?"

"No! Um, actually, it's Serena. You heard she broke her leg, right?"

"Yeah. Blair told me."

"Well, I feel so awful. Like it's all my fault! And now she's ignoring me and I feel so pathetic!"

He certainly _sounded_ pathetic as well, but Chuck kept that comment to himself.

"I'm sure it's not on purpose–" he began.

"Serena has to wear a _cast_ for _six weeks_. Of course she's angry at me! It's all my fault!"

"Six weeks, huh? Well, look on the bright side: you have an excuse to carry her around."

"Not if she hates me!" Nate moaned, but his cry fell on deaf ears. Next to Chuck, Blair had turned white. He snapped the phone shut, focusing his full attention on his girlfriend.

"Blair, is something wrong?"

She shook her head.

"No. Well, yeah, kind of. I just realized that Serena won't be able to walk for six weeks."

"And?" Chuck questioned, toying with her hair.

"And if she can't walk, she can't dance, and if she can't dance, she can't come to the gala with us! We were supposed to double!"

"What gala?" he asked, confused.

"The Midsummer's Night Gala, of course! I already had our dresses picked out and everything. It's this weekend, and there's no way we can go now."

"Could we go without Nate and Serena?" He was still playing with her hair, which made it very difficult to focus on the problem at hand.

"I guess, but it wouldn't be as much fun!" she sighed.

"Are you trying to say that I can't . . . entertain you?" he smirked.

She grinned, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"Well, when you put it that way, I think I'd be delighted to go to the ball with you, Mr. Bass." He kissed the tip of her nose. One thing led to another, and it was beginning to look like they would have to put the bed to use again when Chuck's phone rang.

Blair tugged her dress back up.

"Is that Nate again? Let me talk to him."

Chuck shrugged, handed her the phone, and went right back to what he had been doing.

"Hey, Nate, it's Blair," she said, gasping oddly as Chuck bestowed kisses across her knees.

"Hi, Blair, it's Nate," he said morosely.

"I knew that," she pointed out, biting her lip as Chuck peeled off her stockings with his teeth. "You're calling about Serena, right? Well, I just talked to her, and she feels really bad. She thinks you're angry at her, so she's been avoiding you. She's really embarrassed." Blair exhaled loudly as Chuck's kisses began to creep up her thigh.

"Are you sure?" Nate asked dubiously.

"Positive," she breathed, weaving her fingers into Chuck's hair. "Go talk to her. You'll be glad you did." She closed the phone and let out the cry she had been restraining. Chuck was definitely right about the whole screaming thing, and she would be glad to admit it. Just as long as he didn't move.

Nate stared at his phone. He could've sworn he had heard an odd sort of shriek from Blair before he had hung up. It was definitely weird, but he knew by now to have a don't-ask-don't-tell policy where Chuck and Blair were involved. He took a deep breath. He was going to go talk to Serena before he changed his mind and chickened out again.

Serena freaked out when she saw him walk in her door. She tried to hide under the bed, but Nate spotted her.

"Serena, what are you doing?" he asked, confused. She grabbed the side of the bed and pulled herself up sheepishly.

"Um, just looking for a shoe. That I, uh, lost."

"I hope you find it," he said weakly.

She nodded. They stared at each other for a few moments until Nate broke the silence.

"I cooked some ramen noodles for you," he said, holding the plastic container out. "My mom used to make them for me when I was sick. Not that you're sick, you know. Especially not in the adjective sort of way. But I thought you might like them."

She took the container from his hands and smiled strangely.

"Thanks. You know, I've never had those before."

"You haven't?" he asked, surprised.

"No," she shrugged. "Never." She looked at the container again.

"Do you want to eat them?" he asked, embarrassed.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Here, can you help me over to that table?" she gestured. "I didn't get my crutches yet."

"Sure, of course!" he nodded, picking her up delicately, almost like he was afraid she would break. He carried her over to the table and helped her into the chair.

"Thanks," she said, patting him on the back. He stepped back, grinning like an idiot. She took a tentative bite.

"It's good!" she smiled. Nate nodded, relieved. He watched her finish chewing and swallow. It made him feel strangely wonderful inside.

"So, are you going to just stand there and watch me eat?" she asked jokingly. He chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess." He made a mock-serious face and watched her intently. Serena giggled.

"Would you like some?" she offered.

"No, it's all for you!" he protested. She nodded and kept eating. He watched her for a few more minutes, but then couldn't contain himself.

"Serena, I have to know. How angry are you at me?"

She set down her fork, surprised.

"Me, angry at you? You're the one who should be angry at me!"

"I could never be angry at you!" he blurted. "I mean—that is to say—Serena, I love you! I've loved you ever since we were little, even the whole time I was going out with Blair. Forever!"

Serena froze. Nate was staring at her expectantly with the most heartbreakingly sincere expression on his face. He was waiting for a response that she couldn't give to him.

"Wow, Nate, I—I don't know what to say!" she said shakily. "I, uh, li–" She stopped mid-sentence and groaned pathetically. "Ow! Ow! My leg! I must have twisted it!"

"Oh my God!" Nate cried, his declaration of love practically forgotten. "What should I _do_?"

Serena winced a few times. "Could you—could you take me to Blair's? She'll know what to do. Remember how she hurt her leg in that field hockey game a while ago?"

Nate paused, confused.

"Shouldn't you go to a hospital?"

"Oh, no," she said quickly. "I wouldn't want to, uh, impose! You know, on all of the poor people with brain tumors . . ." she trailed off.

"Blair's! I got it!" he said, nodding to himself. "Come on, let's go!" He swung her over his shoulders and raced out the door. Serena let out the breath she hadn't realized she been holding. That had been close. Really close.

But the next time, she knew she would have to give him a response.

* * *

you know you love me  
xoxo

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading, please revieeeeeew! :D


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